Burton voters will be guinea pigs in a nationwide trial at next year's local elections when they will be ordered to show photo identification in a crackdown on electoral fraud.

East Staffordshire Borough Council is one of 11 authorities across the country which will trial new methods to confirm the identities of voters before they receive their ballot papers.

The experiment will be introduced for the 2019 local elections next May in moves to make the voting process more secure from potential fraudsters attempting to rig elections.

Burton voters will be required to take photo ID with them on the day of voting and present this before they receive their ballot papers, before they have their say.

Andy O'Brien, chief executive and returning officer for East Staffordshire Borough Council, said: "I'm delighted that East Staffordshire has been announced as one of the participating local authorities in the Cabinet office's voter ID pilot.

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"The borough of East Staffordshire provides a combination of rural and urban areas and our diverse population makes our borough an ideal location to pilot this initative."

Nearly 50,000 voters in the Burton constituency cast their vote in last year's General Election, a 67.5 per cent turnout.

Aside from East Staffordshire's trial, other councils will be bringing in alternative models for voter IDs, including photo and non-photo ID, traditional poll cards and poll cards with barcodes which can be scanned.

Voters in Ashby and Measham, who cast their vote with North West Leicestershire District Council, will be required to bring their polling cards with them when they have their say.